Archive for March, 2009

I’m consulting on a community poolhouse project and the design team is considering a 6,000 square-foot greenroof. The building committee has gotten nervous about this kookie technology: is this decision going to be cursed by future generations? Turns out, there are at least 10 acres of greenroofs in the D.C. area alone. People have figured them out and are installing greenroofs to slow down and filter stormwater, provide a cooling effect and supply a green habitat, among many other benefits . I spoke with two leading experts in our area: John Shepley from Emory Knoll Farms and Rick Truett from Furbish Company . Here are the myths and their answers:

Myth #1. They are expensive and need specialized maintenance.

Yes, they are expensive; they can run roughly double the cost — or more — of a conventional commercial roof. But they also protect the roof’s membrane from the damaging effects of the sun’s UV rays , wind, and extremes of temperature fluctuations. This can double the life of the membrane — or more. Rockefeller Center in NYC has greenroofs from the 1930s that are still on the original membranes. Another important consideration on cost results from systems thinking . That is, for sites that have challenges handling rainwater (aka, stormwater) in conventional ways, greenroofs are a godsend. (See Myth #4 below for more on this.)

Upkeep is minimal. A 10,000 SF mature roof would require 1 to 2 person-days per year, maximum. For the first two years, there would be a bit more maintenance to get it to maturity, but not that much more. On a little roof of less than 2,000 SF, the initial work would be would be 3 days the 1st and 2nd years, then a half-day or less every year after that.

Myth #2. In Europe where they are more common, greenroofs are on buildings with trained, equipped, full-time maintenance staffs. They have to rake leaves in the fall, remove pollen-related detritus in the spring, pick up dead branches throughout the year, reseed or replant bare spots, and fertilize wearing safety harnesses when near the roof’s edge.

I have done tiny, 300 square-foot additions with greenroofs. Continued

During WWII, Victory Gardens advertised that the war effort could be supported with the help of every American by planting their very own backyard garden. In the early 40’s these gardens produced up to 40 percent of all the vegetable produce being consumed nationally, not to mention positive community growth. This kind of practice, one that gave each American the sense of empowerment, as well as health and well-being during a time of war is now being seen as a major threat to industrial seed producers like Monsanto, ADM, Sodexo, Dupont and Tyson. These companies aren’t just nasty corporations, but are makers of Genetically Modified foods which means they are patenting and branding seeds so that what you grow will be owned by them not you. Read more about Monsanto here . A more disheartening thought is that these companies have a stronghold within the United States government! Heads of the Department of Agriculture since the late 1970’s have worked with Monsanto including Tom Visack, Agriculture’s director for the Obama Administration. I have just read news of a devastating bill that is supposedly on its way to Congress. Its about criminalizing organic farming and could include you, the backyard farmer . A few highlights include the following from the Campaign For Liberty website where you can read the plan in more detail:

Red flags the Campaign for Liberty found ………..

• Legally binds state agriculture departments to enforce federal guidelines, effectively taking away the states’ power to do anything other than act as food police for the federal dept.
• Effectively criminalizes organic farming but doesn’t actually use the word organic.
• Affects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it but consuming it.
• Affects anyone producing meat of any kind including wild game.
• Legislation is so broad based that every aspect of growing or producing food can be made illegal. There are no specifics, which is bizarre considering how long the legislation is.

Things you can do…… Continued

We were wondering if you’ve heard of Blackle? A new Google search page in black, created by Heap Media. Their idea is that having a black screen on your computer can cut electricity demand. Seemingly insignificant? Blackle was also created to “remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy.” I wonder if this might be more effective then the actual energy savings but according to Ecolron a white web page uses about 74 watts to display, while an all black page uses only 59 watts. There is much dispute. Please, tell us what you think. Could this be "green-washing"?

On a local level the fight for energy efficiency is hitting much harder. This just came to me via email with the following concerns from the Green Building Institute. Thanks Janice Romanosky for sending it along:

A key committee in the Maryland House of Delegates will decide this week whether to divert $70 million away from energy efficiency program to bill-payer assistance. The committee will vote as early as Wednesday, so it couldn’t be more urgent. Please call AND fax the Delegates in the areas where you work and urge them to keep the energy efficiency funding in the Strategic Energy Investment Fund as it was passed into law last year.

PRIORITY DELEGATES TO CONTACT:

· Baltimore County – Del. Susan Aumann – (410) 841-3258, fax (410) 841-3163

· Baltimore City – Del. Talmadge Branch – (410) 841-3398, fax (410) 841-3550

· Charles County – Del. Murray Levy – (410) 841-3325, fax (410) 841- 3367

· Montgomery County – Bill Bronrott – (410) 841-3642, fax (410) 841-3026

Please also pass this message along to former clients or colleagues who also believe that energy efficiency is an important part of Maryland’s energy future.

Continued

Recently, I was certified by the City of Baltimore and the State of Maryland as a woman-owned business enterprise, or WBE. What does it mean to claim my status as a woman-owned business? I am officially considered "disadvantaged," so – in the eyes of the city and state – entitled to special treatment. Preferential treatment. I can be invited to be on project teams solely on the basis of my gender.

I have been through this certification three times now. With my first business; with my partnership, Terralogos ; and now, with Gabrielli Design Studio . It’s a burdensome process, which is why this last time I put it off for almost three years. You have to answer a gazillion questions, and give them complete copies of your last three years’ tax returns. Fill out a statement of your net worth, provide balance sheets on the business, resumes, copies of leases, letters of reference, business plan, and on and on.

It’s worth the effort because of the marketing advantages. Yet it leaves me conflicted to claim disadvantage in the world of business by virtue of my chemistry, societal strictures, upbringing, education, and weepiness at chick-flicks. It even feels a bit traitorous, as if I’m admitting I’d rather be a man. Am I saying I’d be more successful in business if I were a man, but I’m not, so I have to do all this paperwork to get special treatment?

Lately, I have been reflecting on the differences between the male and female consciousness as they are manifested in how we approach our lives and work. Continued

Having a vermicomposting system in your home might sound scary at first, what with all those worms, but I can assure you this experience has taught me that working in tandem with nature can provide a profound understanding of sustainability and inherent life cycles. For example, all over the U.S. our soil is degrading at alarming speed through monocultures and pesticides, which is stripping the soil of hundreds — if not thousands — of years’ worth of nutrient-rich support for healthy plentiful growth.

Leaves, for example, have always been a source of food for soil and every year we deprive that soil of its regenerating power by bagging leaves and hauling them elsewhere. Soil regenerates itself through the decomposition of mico-bacteria and with a lot of help from various species of worms. It was Darwin who discovered the amazing power of worms to bury and till the earth, which is also one reason that the deeper archaeologists dig, the older their findings.

We must start thinking of better ways of disposing of our waste, ways that give back in order to continue receiving. Vermicomposting is one way to get started. I made this video to engage people to take note of the values of life cycle systems. Worms will not only eat your food scrapes and leaves, but also your junk mail and holiday wrapping paper. Once decomposition is complete you’ll have rich black soil to use in your flower beds.

If you have any more questions about vermicomposting, please email us at info@goforchange.com or start a discussion thread on our social networking site. (goNetwork button)

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